Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
I. GIANT OF THE QUATTROCENTO: DONATELLO
A. Life
1. Began his artistic career as one of Ghiberti’s assistants on the north door of
the Baptistery.
2. Spent time with Brunelleschi in Rome where he studied Classical art and
architecture.
3. Donatello was primarily a SCULPTOR, creating works in bronze, marble,
and wood. He stands with Michelangelo and Bernini as one of the most
accomplished sculptors in Italian history.
B. David – 5 feet, 2 inches
1. Commissioned by the Medici family to decorate their courtyard. Displayed
on a pedestal with the inscription: The victor is whoever defends the fatherland.
God crushes the wrath of an enormous foe. Behold! A boy overcame a great tyrant.
Conquer, o citizens. How does this express Renaissance attitudes?
2. Summary of biblical text:
The story of David and Goliath comes from 1 Samuel 17. The Israelites are fighting the
Philistines, whose best warrior - Goliath - repeatedly offers to meet the Israelites' best
warrior in man-to-man combat to decide the whole battle. None of the trained Israelite
soldiers is brave enough to fight the giant Goliath, until David - a shepherd boy who is too
young to be a soldier - accepts the challenge. Saul, the Israelite leader, offers David
armor and weapons, but the boy is untrained and refuses them. Instead, he goes out with
his slingshot, and confronts the enemy. He hits Goliath in the head with a stone, knocking
the giant down, and then grabs Goliath's sword and cuts off his head. The Philistines
honorably retired as pacted and the Israelites are saved. David's special strength comes
from God, and the story illustrates the triumph of good over evil. [1]
3. Classical features
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First free-standing life-sized nude statue since antiquity.
Clear use of contrapposto
Aloof and restrained – Surprising lack of emotion considering he has just
conquered so formidable an enemy.
4. David stands over Goliath’s head, which he has severed with the giant’s own
sword. In his left hand, David holds the stone thrown from the sling.
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
5. David is wearing a shepherd’s hat ringed with laurel. Laurel for the victor
but why the hat? Why the boots?
6. Still, there is something different about David. “No matter from which side
one approaches the statue, one always sees a figure of extremely harmonious
grace and almost playful lightness. Androgynous sensuality, pervading the
whole figure, eclipses recollection of the recent battle with Goliath, upon
whose severed head David places his foot. David’s directs his gaze downward
appearing lost in thought.”
a. David described in Bible as a beautiful boy.
b. Refused armor because it encumbered him.
c. Remember in classical Greece that homosexual relations between
older men and younger boys was OK as long as older man was
“active” partner and younger man “passive.” Shameful to be passive
if older.
d. Scholars suggest this same attitude may have been, at least somewhat,
the case in 15th C. Florence
i. Given its breadth, the ramifications of male sodomitical
practices touched all Florentines in one way or another. So
famous was the city on the Arno for promoting it, that in
Germany, homosexual sex was described by the
verb florenzen, and in France it was called "the Florentine
vice."... p. 184 from Engaging Symbols: Gender, Politics, and
Public Life in Fifteenth-Century Florence
ii. Older men might flirt with younger men and steal their hats,
put in passive role. That David still has his hat on might
suggest that he is still “his own man.” (Paraphrase from same
source).
C. Saint George 6 feet 10 inches
1. Placed in a niche of Or San Michele church in Florence – one of 14 niches
2. Or San Michele was a church that was used by the trade and craft guilds.
City order the guilds to fill in the niches with sculptures. Each guild was
responsible for one niche.
3. Saint George – a warrior saint most famous for slaying a dragon and of
course freeing a damsel in distress. Vividly portrays the proud idealism of
youth.
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
4. Saint George is encased in armor (the statue was commissioned by the armor
manufacturer’s guild) but his body and limbs are not rigid.
5. His stance conveys his readiness for combat. His right hand originally held a
sword or lance.
6. Note Saint George’s shield. It contains his symbol – a huge cross.
7. Note the relief below Saint George. It shows him slaying the dragon and
freeing the maiden.
D. Saint Mark – 7 feet 9 inches
1. Commissioned by the Guild of Linen Weavers for a niche on the exterior of
Or San Michele.
2. Notice that Donatello had included the concept of weight shift and movement
in Saint Mark. This is the return of the knowledge once possessed by
Classical sculptors such as Polykleitos and Praxiteles. Saint Mark is rendered
in CONTRAPPOSTO.
3. Saint Mark is also independent of the architecture. Although his in a niche,
he is not attached to a column.
4. Donatello shows understanding of the human body. It’s as if Donatello
sculpted a nude human form beneath the drapery. Notice the great
naturalism in the hands and the contours of the body under the robe.
E. The Prophet Habbakuk (Old Testament) a.k.a. Zuccone or “pumpkin head”
1. Donatello sculpted this for a niche 30 feet above the ground in the campanile
of Florence Cathedral.
2. Donatello deliberately distorted some of the features of Habakkuk realizing
how viewers would perceive it from below.
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
3. Very realistic qualities even to the point that Habbakuk is not idealized.
Donatello was probably influenced by veristic Roman portrait busts.
4. Habbakuk has an intense gaze with his mouth agape as if he has just
delivered an unpleasant prophecy.
F. Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata – 11 feet by 13 feet
1. Gattabmelata was a Venetian warlord.
2. First large-scale bronze equestrian statue since antiquity. It is also a
PORTRAIT of Gattamelata. Humanism – emphasized achievement and
fame. Therefore, a rise in portraiture.
3. Captures the personality of the warlord. He was a wise military leader. He is
depicted in a restrained pose holding his leaders baton. Horse’s hoof on a
sphere-symbol of dominion over world?
4. Clearly inspired by the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.
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Both horses raise one foreleg
Like Marcus Aurelius, Gattamelata extends his baton in a gesture of
command.
G. Mary Magdalene 6 feet by 2 inches
1. Carved out of wood by Donatello when he was 70 and in poor health.
2. Recall that Mary Magdalene was a woman of poor reputation who
repented when she was forgiven by Jesus. She then became one of his
most devout followers.
3. After the Crucifixion, she lived a life of penance in the wilderness, eating
little and clothed only in her own long hair. According to legend, she
wandered into France. La Madaleine at Vezelay church (tympanum of
Christ’s Mission to the Apostles) supposedly holds her relics.
4. How does the statue portray her? The statue portrays the former
prostitute at the end of her life. Her long thin proportions, skeletal
appearance, and sunken cheeks reflect the ravages of time. In place of
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
drapery, Mary Magdalene is clothed in her own hair, grown long as a
sign of repentance.
5. Why did Donatello portray her this way? Most likely he wanted to show
that Mary abandoned her concern for her superficial, outward
appearance to instead focus on her spirit.
6. Look carefully at her face. Do you think she “is alight with the
triumphant knowledge of pure faith?”
7. THE ETS STRIKES AGAIN: DONATELLO, MARY MAGDALENE.
Identify the period in which the work was made. Discuss ways in which it
departs from the more typical artistic concerns of its period.
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Period – Early Renaissance or 15th century
Artistic concerns of Renaissance – Glorifying the human form,
drawing on classical Roman sculpture as a reference for the
human form
Points of departure – Mary Magdalene is devoid of classical
allusions. She is not idealized. Unlike other Renaissance statues
and paintings that drew on the Capitoline Venus or Medici
Venus to achieve an idealized appearance for the female body,
Donatello portrayed Mary Magdalene as haggard, wrinkled, and
physically unattractive in order to stress her rejection of the
worldly outward appearance in exchange for focusing on
penitence for the sins of her younger days and achieving
spiritual growth.
H. Feast of Herod
1. Bronze panel created for the baptismal font of Siena baptistery
2. The story
 Salome, the niece of King Herod of Judea was a skilled dancer
 She excited King Herod so much with her dance during one of his
feasts that he promised her anything she wanted up to half his
kingdom
 What should she choose? What would you choose?
 Salome sought her mother Herodias’ advice. Herodias despised
John the Baptist, a famous preacher and cousin of Jesus, for
exposing the fact that she was having an affair with her brotherin-law King Herod. John the Baptist was already arrested for the
offense but continued his preaching in private to King Herod, who
did listen to him.
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
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Herodias told Salome to ask for what she wanted most: THE
HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.
King Herod, bound by his promise, had to fulfill her request. John
was beheaded and his head was presented to Salome on a platter.
3. Renaissance elements
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Notice the idealized bodies
Interest in naturalism – the figures move in different directions
and are individualized
The reference to classical Roman architecture – note the round
arches
Interest in creating the illusion of a three-dimensional space – the
round arches recede in size in the background, figures appear
smaller in background, Donatello varied level of relief of figures to
make figures in foreground stand out more.
Recall that Donatello was one of GHIBERTI’s assistants on
bronze doors for the baptistery
II. OTHER IMPORTANT EARLY RENAISSANCE SCULPTORS
A. ANDREA DEL VERROCCHIO – The “True Eye”
1. Background
a. Important Early Renaissance sculptor and painter of the second
part of the Quattrocento.
b. Leonardo da Vinci and Pietro Perugino became students at
Verrochio’s workshop in Florence.
c. He became the favorite sculptor of Piero de Medici (aka Piero the
Gouty) and his son Lorenzo the Magnificent after Donatello’s death
in 1466.
d. Verrocchio became the curator of antiquities in the Medici palace,
restoring many Roman sculptures and portrait busts.
1. Verrocchio’s Portrait Bust of Lorenzo de Medici (painted terracotta)
a. An idealized Renaissance gentleman
b. In the tradition of Roman portrait busts
c. Lorenzo’s face exhibits GRAVITAS – serious head of
the Medici family and most powerful man in Florence
d. Cultured and refined – Elegant Renaissance hat and
clothing show that he is a gentleman. Lorenzo prided
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
himself on studying Neo-Platonist philosophy and
writing Petrarch-style love poetry.
2. Comparing Verrocchio’s work to Donatello’s work
a. Verrocchio and Donatello created sculptures of similar subjects. It is
interesting to compare and contrast these works. These works
include:
 David
 Equestrian statues
b. Verrocchio’s David vs. Donatello’s David
1. How are they similar?
2. How are they different?
3. Do they both achieve Renaissance ideals?
c. Verrocchio’s Equestrian Statue of Bartolommeo Colleoni vs.
Donatello’s Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata.
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How are they similar?
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How are they different?
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How do they both convey Renaissance ideals?
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Kleiner re: Verocchio’s David: Narrative realism contrasts with
quiet classicism of Donatello’s David. Posed like hunter with
kill. More psychological realism of brash, young men.
B. NANNI DI BANCO
1. Famous for his sculptural group called Four Crowned Saints
1. Who are they?
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Four stone masons from the period of Emperor Diocletian during the
late Roman Empire.
Diocletian ordered a massive persecution of Christians and ordered
the sculptors to create a statue of a pagan god
The four sculptors were Christians and believed it was wrong
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
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They were martyred for their beliefs
Theme: Self-sacrifice – Florence was about to be invaded by a foreign
king named Ladislaus
2. Where are they?
 In a niche --- Guess where --- OR SAN MICHELE
 Recall that Donatello’s Saints George and Mark also fill niches in Or
San Michele
3. Why are Nanni di Banco’s Four Crowned Saints good examples of
Renaissance sculpture?
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Nanni di Banco demonstrates an interest in human anatomy because
their body proportions are accurate
He idealizes them – the combination of making the figures look
realistic but idealizing them at the same time – These figures were
heroes
Interest in naturalism with the folds in their drapery and
contrapposto
GIVES THEM INDIVIDUALIZED PERSONALITIES – Figure to
the right points as if explaining something while the others listen.
A SACRED CONVERSATION.
4. What do you think influenced Nanni di Banco?
C. ANTONIO POLLAIULO
1. Early Renaissance artist famous for his interest in muscular, human
forms.
2. Hercules and Antaeus, ca. 1475
 Mythical wrestling match between Hercules and Antaeus (a giant
and son of Earth).
 Hercules realized that every time he threw Antaeus to the ground,
Antaeus sprang back up
 Hercules held Antaeus aloft. Pollaiullo depicts the last excruciating
moments of the battle.
 Noteworthy also because it broke the traditional, frontal rendering
of figures in sculpture
 Commissioned by Medici family in 1470’s. Hercules had been on
the seal of Florence since the 1300’s.
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Italian Renaissance 1400 – 1500: Donatello and Other Sculptors
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Did the Medici commission other works of art that demonstrated
similar objectives? If so, what are they?
3. Battle of the Ten Nudes, ca. 1465
 Early example of an ENGRAVING (process of incising a design
into a hard material, usually a metal plate. The print or
impression made onto paper is also called an engraving)
 Shows Pollaiulo’s interest in showing human anatomy
 Pollaiulo shows all the muscular and tendon definition especially
around the shoulders, elbows, and knees
 Figures shown ECORCHE (showing the body with such definition
that it appears to lack skin).
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